Once again that paragon of virtue, the United Nations, has moved to impose its will on the Jewish Temple Mount and Israel. Yes, I deliberately used the word "Jewish." Within the next few days UNESCO will be voting on a draft decision during its 40th annual meeting being held in Istanbul, Turkey.

According to bicom:

The Temple Mount is holy to both Muslims and Jews, yet the resolution refers to it exclusively by the Arabic term Al-Haram Al-Sharif. The Western Wall, the world's most significant Jewish prayer site is also referred to by the Arabic term Buraq Plaza, while quotation marks pointedly accompany the words "Western Wall plaza."

This is another UN attempt to appease the Islamic Palestinian leaderships. Again, I deliberately used the word "Islamic." This is because eradicating Jewish history in the area has everything to do with the fundamental nature of Islam.

Islamic leaders have consistently affirmed that Jerusalem and the Temple Mount eternally belong to Islam. It's just that many refuse to pay attention. For example, Chief Islamic Justice of Palestine, Dr. Tayseer Al-Tamimi has stated that, "Jerusalem is the religious, political and spiritual capital of Palestine - the Jews have no right to it."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas once declared:

"We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem. This is pure blood, clean blood, blood on its way to Allah. With the help of Allah, every martyr will be in heaven, and every wounded will get his reward."

Abbas has also affirmed that: "Anyone who gives up Jerusalem is a traitor and there will be no Palestinian state without the city as its capital."

According to Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar:

"We have liberated Gaza, but have we recognized Israel? Have we given up our lands occupied in 1948? We demand the liberation of the West Bank, and the establishment of a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital - but without recognizing [Israel]. This is the key - without recognizing the Israeli enemy on a single inch of land... Our ultimate plan is [to have] Palestine in its entirety. I say this loud and clear so that nobody will accuse me of employing political tactics." (Emphases mine)

If all that wasn't clear enough, one can read a string of statements by Hamas in their own words.

The Temple Mount has always been the center of friction between the Palestinians and Jews. The former consistently deny Jewish historical presence and have even removed or destroyed Jewish artifacts. More recently, the area has witnessed an uptick in violence.

These events prompted Jordan to affirm its intention to install cameras on the Temple Mount. Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh assured Abbas that the exercise was intended to "expose Israeli assaults and violations" on the Temple Mount. However, shortly afterward, the Palestinians protested and Jordan abruptly abandoned the camera project.

Back in 2015 Gatestone Institute predicted why the Palestinians would continue to object to cameras on the mount. The reasons should be obvious to an objective person familiar with the saga. Cameras would have exposed the fact that Palestinian activists have been "smuggling stones, firebombs and pipe bombs into the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the past two years." They would have also shown that Israel hasn't been the culprit.

What drives all this? Islam wants all Israeli territory returned to it, not just Gaza and the so-called "West Bank" occupied land. Andalusia is a good example of the principle that once a land has been occupied by Islam, it is eternally Islamic.

As Soeren Kern wrote in 2012:

Islamists are also stepping up calls for an "Andalusia Spring" to reclaim "occupied" Spain for Islam, in the same way they believe they have the right to reclaim all of present day Israel, which had once been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Note also that Islam divides the world into two spheres: the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and the House of War (Dar al-harb). While non-Muslims (dhimmis) are permitted to live in regions where Islam is dominant, they do so under sufferance. The House of War (Dar al-harb) must be subjected to perpetual jihad. Holy war is imposed on it by Islamic law.

Daniel Pipes recently observed:

"Israel is an ultimate goal of a group like ISIS, but far more immediate are the Muslim countries. In particular, Saudi Arabia, but also Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Jordan..."

We are currently seeing rumors that ISIS is in Gaza and the Sinai. This doesn't bode well for Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. They'll not be regarded as hard core enough by ISIS militants and will likely be seen as failures. The over-arching goal for ISIS will be to destroy Israel and reclaim the region for the Islamic State.

UNESCO and all other entities imposing themselves upon Israel are bit players in an end-game scenario predicted in the Bible. Whatever self-serving decision UNESCO arrives at regarding the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall will ultimately be proved meaningless.

God is in control. He is the Grand Author of the final outcome.

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. Psalm 46:4-5

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:10-11

And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. Zech 12:3

Here's the latest - including an ISIS call for Muslims to plow over people in cars.

The man who killed 84 people - including at least two Americans - in Nice, France, last night was a 31-year old French resident of North African origin named Lahouaiej Bouhlel.

Born in Tunisia, Bouhel used a large commercial truck to drive over crowds of pedestrians and tourists, often accelerating along his two kilometers killing spree, before being stopped, shot and killed by French police. Inside the truck, authorities found "a pistol, a larger gun, and a number of fake weapons and grenades."

French President Francois Hollande called the event a "terrorist" attack even though no terror organization has yet claimed responsibility. Still, the Islamic State has called for Muslims to killed Americans and Frenchmen in any way possible, including plowing into them with cars.

"If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman or any of their allies," said ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani in one of his first speeches, according to a translation from the SITE Intelligence Group. "Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car."

A French newspaper reports: "We can confirm the identity of the driver of the truck that drove into the crowds Tuesday night, according to our information. It is the owner of the identity card that was found in the truck by police. He is from Nice and is of Tunisian origin, aged 31, called Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel. Police raided his apartment in the Nice Nord district this morning. He works as a delivery driver and is known for criminal acts, including violence, but any radicalization has gone unnoticed. His act seems yet to have been premeditated. He may have hired the truck on Wednesday in a neighboring town of Nice. The investigators are still is looking for possible accomplices."

Please be praying for the wounded, and for the family and friends of all those who were killed. At the same time, please be praying for French authorities as they deal with yet another terrorist attack. Indeed, we need to be praying for leaders in the U.S., throughout Europe and around the world to be far more serious and decisive in combatting the threat of Radical Islam.

"A Bastille Day fireworks celebration was shattered by death and mayhem on Thursday night in the southern French city of Nice when a large truck barreled for more than a mile through an enormous crowd of spectators, crushing and maiming dozens in what France's president called a terrorist assault," reported the New York Times. "It came eight months after the Paris attacks that traumatized the nation and all of Europe."

"Officials and witnesses in Nice said at least 84 people, including children, were killed by the driver of the rampaging truck, who mowed them down on the sidewalk," the Times added. "He was shot to death by the police as officers scrambled to respond on what is France's most important annual holiday. Graphic television and video images showed the truck accelerating and tearing through the crowd, dozens of victims sprawled in its path, and the bullet-riddled windshield of the vehicle. Municipal officials and police officers described the truck as full of weapons and grenades."

"The horror, the horror has, once again, hit France," President François Hollande said in a nationally televised address early Friday. He said the "terrorist character" of the assault was undeniable, and he described the use of a large truck to deliberately kill people as "a monstrosity."

At least 84 people were killed when a huge truck drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera town of Nice on the famous Promenade des Anglais seafront Thursday night in a horrific Islamist terror attack. Hundreds more were injured.

From the initial investigation of attack in the French resort city of Nice, it is clear that the large truck used to run down dozens of people on the promenade was carefully prepared for the attack, debkafile's counterterrorism sources report. .

The windshield and apparently the side windows of the cab were made of bulletproof glass. In other words, the driver carried out the attack while sitting in the protected cab that he had built for himself. It was the first time for this method to be used by terrorists.

Damage to the windshield showed that at some, if not all, of the bullets fired at the cab did not penetrate it. The fact that the windshield was not broken, and the bullets left round holes without cracks, show that the windshield had been replaced with bulletproof glass or a layer of bullet-resistant protective plastic.

Our sources point out that if the police in Nice, who have already been on a terror alert for an entire year, had been properly prepared for the large-scale event on a national holiday, they would have had more powerful and effective weapons that would have hit the terrorist as he sat in the driver's seat, or at least been able to stop the truck by puncturing its tires.

Fire from the kind of handguns used by the Nice police cannot stop a speeding truck of this kind.

As it was, the terrorist lived to jump out and open fire on the crowds before being gunned down himself.

DEBKAfike earlier described the event.

At least 84 people were killed when a huge truck drove into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French Riviera town of Nice on the famous Promenade des Anglais seafront Thursday night in a horrific Islamist terror attack. Hundreds more were injured. Before he was shot dead by police, the driver opened fire on the throng.. People were advised to stay home and keep their cars off the roads in case of armed men out on the town Police gunfire was an attempt to stop the huge truck, which continued to plough at a speed of 70kph into the crowds of families and tourists watching a fireworks display. Guns and hand grenades were later found stowed in the truck. Police say the driver was 31 and of Tunisian origin.

This appears to be the deadliest terrorist attack in France since the Paris outrage last year. President Francois Hollande extended the national state of emergency that was due to expire next week by another three months and recalled police reservists to duty across France.

The extremely confused land war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq continues to grind on, with the current situation trending somewhat against ISIS in Iraq, less so in Syria.

The Russian intervention has bought the Assad regime at least an improved stalemate, with the Assad regime consolidating their position in their western Syrian bastion (although their hold on that may still be uncertain) and regaining some ground, especially around Palmyra in the south. (However, their attempt to expand toward ISIS's Syrian 'capital' of Raqqa has evidently failed.) While Assad has gone through the motions of negotiating there is no reason to believe he has abandoned his past announced intention to militarily crush the rebellions. (This is, after all, the preferred method in the region, since the aim is not just to defeat current rebellions but to intimidate the survivors-the claim that you can't kill your way out of an insurgency being Western thinking.) Continuing Russian-supported offensives by Assad-aligned forces, including nonSyrian Shia jihadi militias such as Lebanese Hezbollah, have--at least for the moment--isolated Aleppo. The Russians are supposedly committed to support the Assad regime's intended reconquest of the city.

While the Kurdish YPG and its screen of allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces, who have continued to make ground advances against ISIS, occasionally talk about advancing south to Raqqa, they recognize doing so would probably be extremely difficult and costly, and it is more likely their major concern is consolidating a Kurdish-controlled region along the Turkish border with Syria. In Iraq, the partially rebuilt Iraqi Security Forces and their allies, having retaken Fallujah, are in what is probably at most the preliminary phases of preparing the ground for an offensive to retake Mosul. While the Iraqi Kurds have announced they are ready to take Mosul, they are waiting for Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) support for what they expect to be a very bloody battle. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Government is struggling to avoid collapse due to political infighting.

In all likelihood, the Battle for (or, more likely, the prolonged siege of) Aleppo will be the major battle in the Syrian Civil War for the foreseeable future. However, the Battle of Aleppo is not likely to be a decisive battle in the war against ISIS. Most of the opposition forces there are either from Jabhat an Nusra (Al Qaeda's Syrian branch) or other non-ISIS factions. There is no reason to believe ISIS will commit major forces to the battle-they will undoubtedly prefer to let their enemies fight while preserving their own strength.

Aside from Aleppo, the most potentially strategically significant area for the foreseeable future is the enclave, sometimes called the "Manbij Pocket," along the Turkish border between the Kurdish enclave of Afrin to the west and the Kurdish-controlled region east of the Euphrates. As of mid-2016, most of the area is held by ISIS, although the SDF and the Kurds have a foothold across the October Dam in the southeast, and have been trying to take the town of Manbij proper, while anti-ISIS rebels control an area in the north and west. The strategic importance of the area to the various combatants is clear:

* ISIS and undoubtedly the other jihadi factions want to retain it to maintain access to what has evidently so far been a comparatively open operating environment in Turkey. ISIS is also firing rockets into Turkey from the pocket.* The Kurds want it to establish a continuous belt of Kurdish-controlled territory along the Turkish-Syrian border and to consolidate a Kurdish region within Syria.* The other rebel factions operating there, especially those supported by the Turks, want to maintain control to allow continued access to Turkey.* The Assad Regime will want to take control to, at the very least, seal the border with Turkey and reclaim the territory.* The Turks want to be able to support their favored anti-Assad factions, preserve it as a buffer to keep more refugees out of Turkey, block hostile factions from firing into Turkey, and prevent the Kurds from consolidating control of the border area.

But if these weren't enough, another reason why a major-and potentially a decisive--battle with ISIS may be fought in the enclave is because it contains the village of Dabiq. The importance of Dabiq is not because of its tactical or strategic military significance-it has none-but because of the religious significance ISIS has chosen to give the place.

The Religious Significance of Dabiq

Like Christianity, Islam is a diverse faith, with various interpretations. The one chosen by ISIS has declared that Dabiq is to be the location of the decisive battle-"al-Malhamah al-Kubra"--between the forces of Islam and those ISIS defines as Crusaders, which will supposedly herald "the Hour"-- the end times of the world. As ISIS has said in Dabiq, their on-line propaganda publication named after the town; [Note-author explanations in brackets]

"As mentioned in the introduction to our first issue, the name of our magazine was taken from the area named Dābiq in the northern countryside of Halab [Aleppo], due to the significant role it will play during the events of al-Malhamah al-Kubrā (The Grand Battle) against the crusaders.

"Abu Hurayrah [a companion of the Prophet Muhammad] reported that Allah's Messenger [the Prophet Muhammad] (sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "The Hour will not be established until the Romans land at al-A'māq or Dābiq (two places near each other in the northern countryside of Halab). Then an army from Madīnah [Medina] of the best people on the earth at that time will leave for them. When they line up in ranks the Romans will say, 'Leave us and those who were taken as prisoners from amongst us so we can fight them.' The Muslims will say, 'Nay, by Allah, we will not abandon our brothers to you.' So they will fight them. Then one third of them will flee; Allah will never forgive them. One third of them will be killed; they will be the best martyrs with Allah. And one third will conquer them; they will never be afflicted with fitnah [intra-Muslim infighting]. Then they will conquer Constantinople.

These battles are supposed to be followed by even more momentous events. The ISIS-favored prediction continues;

"While they are dividing the war booty, having hung their swords on olive trees, Shaytān [Satan, the enemy of God] will shout, 'The [false] Messiah has followed after your families [who were left behind.]' So they will leave [for their families], but Shaytān's claim is false. When they arrive to Shām [Syria] he comes out. Then when they are preparing for battle and filing their ranks, the prayer is called. So 'Īsā Ibn Maryam [Jesus, son of Mary] (sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam) will descend and lead them. When the enemy of Allah sees him, he will melt as salt melts in water. If he were to leave him he would melt until he perished, but he kills him with his own hand, and then shows them his blood upon his spear."

This religious claim is reinforced by a prediction from ISIS's founding godfather, Abu Mus'ab az-Zarqāwī, whose quote about Dabiq is on the opening pages of every issue of the publication:

"The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify - by Allah's permission- until it burns the crusader armies in Dābiq."

We should note that while there are various interpretations as to the signs of the Hour and whether it is imminent, polling indicates that expectations that the world is approaching the End Times are evidently widespread among Muslims. However, although at least one of the previous ISIS leaders thought the Hour was imminent and ran the organization accordingly, it is at least open to question whether the current ISIS leadership actually believes these prophesies--they may well not. In Dabiq they rather carefully hedge on the issue. The Zarqawi quote doesn't pin them down by saying that it is necessarily imminent-it requires Allah's permission. One article in their publication Dabiq on "The Islamic State Founders on Signs of the Hour" actually had nothing on such signs. However, by emphasizing Dabiq they have declared the place to be what might be considered a religiously-defined strategic center of gravity for their movement.

Therefore, Dabiq may ultimately be significant for one of the major reasons that Stalingrad became significant-the enemy leader decided to make it significant. That being the case, we should expect ISIS to fight hard to hold it, and anyone trying to capture it should expect a major battle. Because religious factors are central to the motivation of many ISIS fighters, ISIS attempts to mobilize its fighters to fight there should have more success than in several past efforts. It is also likely to encourage their willingness to sacrifice themselves ("martyrdom" in ISIS thinking) in the fighting.

ISIS is the most powerful of the rebel factions in Syria. Since a major Kurdish move into the area risks open Turkish intervention, and the non-ISIS rebel factions are too weak and/or too fragmented to make a joint effort (and many of them may be further weakened in the coming battle for Aleppo), the most likely antagonist will be the Assad Regime, or more correctly its allies, in particular Lebanese Hezbollah and the other Shia jihadis recruited by Iran, supported by Iranian units and Russian air, artillery, and special operations forces. (The Syrian Arab Army is evidently largely defunct.) Meanwhile, ISIS-related facilities, concentrations, and troop movements in the area are an obvious potential target for Coalition air strikes and any artillery or rockets the U.S. deploys in the region.

If ISIS loses Dabiq, they won't be able to ignore the loss, as they did with the battle of Kobane, or double-talk about it not being significant. The motto of ISIS is "Remaining and Expanding." It is difficult for them to claim they have been expanding lately, and if they lose Dabiq they will be unable to claim they are remaining either. And since they claim to be on a divine mission, how can they claim Allah's favor if the infidels win a battle that ISIS has declared to be decisive?

Is the United States the most wasteful nation on the entire planet? We are all certainly guilty of wasting food. Whether it is that little bit that you don't want to eat at the end of a meal, or that produce that you forgot about in the back of the refrigerator that went moldy, the truth is that we could all do better at making sure that good food does not get wasted. It can be tempting to think that wasting food is not a big deal because we have so much of it, but an increasing number of people around the world are really hurting these days. In fact, it has been estimated that there are more than a billion hungry people around the globe right now. So as a society we need to figure out how to waste a whole lot less food and how to get it into the mouths of those that really need it.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, close to a third of all food in the United States gets wasted after it gets to the store. This is commonly referred to as "downstream" waste. When you add all of this "downstream" waste up, it comes to a grand total of 133 billion pounds of food each year...

Nearly a third of the 430 billion pounds of food produced for Americans to eat is wasted, a potential catastrophe for landfills and a wake-up call to officials scrambling to feed the hungry, according to a stunning new report from the Department of Agriculture.

The just-issued report revealed that in 2010, 31 percent, or 133 billion pounds, of food produced for Americans to eat was wasted, either molded or improperly cooked, suffered "natural shrinkage" due to moisture loss, or because people became disinterested in what they purchased.

How many people do you think we could feed with 133 billion pounds of food?

But that isn't all of the food that we waste. In addition to "downstream" waste, we also have to add "upstream" waste to the equation. Massive amounts of food are wasted each year because American consumers don't want to eat fruits and vegetables that are "imperfect". The following comes from the Guardian...

Americans throw away almost as much food as they eat because of a "cult of perfection", deepening hunger and poverty, and inflicting a heavy toll on the environment.

Vast quantities of fresh produce grown in the US are left in the field to rot, fed to livestock or hauled directly from the field to landfill, because of unrealistic and unyielding cosmetic standards, according to official data and interviews with dozens of farmers, packers, truckers, researchers, campaigners and government officials.

And I know that as a consumer I am guilty of this. Just yesterday, I was picking through the apricots at the grocery store looking for the prettiest ones that I could find. Of course they were all good to eat, but most of us are in the habit of wanting produce that looks as "perfect" as possible.

As a result, a lot of perfectly good food that may look a little ratty ends of being wasted...

"Sunburnt" or darker-hued cauliflower was ploughed over in the field. Table grapes that did not conform to a wedge shape were dumped. Entire crates of pre-cut orange wedges were directed to landfill. In June, Kirschenman wound up feeding a significant share of his watermelon crop to cows.

As the Guardian article quoted above noted, when you add "downstream" waste and "upstream" waste together, we end up wasting about half our food.

This is tragic, because there are a whole lot of people in our own country that could use this food. According to one estimate, there are 49 million Americans dealing with food insecurity. But if we didn't waste nearly half our food, we could likely feed just about everyone sufficiently.

Globally, about one-third of all food is wasted. That is better than the U.S. number, but it is still way too high.

At this point, we just don't have a lot of resources to waste. So many people are suffering these days, and this includes an explosion of crushing poverty in the country that is hosting the Olympics this summer. Just yards away from the primary stadium that will be used by the Olympic games, people actually have raw sewage running through their homes...

In the Mangueira 'favelas' no more than 750m away from the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which will host the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, young families are living in makeshift houses with no sanitation.

The stadium will stage both the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics in August, and as global superstars such as Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Justin Gatlin take to the track, the favela residents will be dealing with raw sewage running through their homes.

It has been estimated that more than 20 percent of the population of Rio lives in "favelas". But instead of doing something for those people, the government of Brazil has spent hundreds of millions of dollars hosting the World Cup and the Olympics.

What is wrong with that picture?

Meanwhile, things continue to get even worse elsewhere in South America. In Venezuela, 47 percent of the country can no longer provide three meals a day for their families, and the lack of toilet paper has become a national crisis...

Venezuela's government said it occupied Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s local plant, days after the company had halted operations because of shortages of raw materials in the socialist crisis-stricken country.

"Kimberly-Clark will continue producing for all Venezuelans and is now in the hands of the workers," Labor Minister Oswaldo Vera said Monday in a televised address from the company's plant in central Aragua state, before signing an order to take it over, according to WSJ. The labor ministry claims Kimberly-Clark had violated Venezuelan law by firing more than 900 workers without consulting the government.

"It doesn't matter who's running the factory," said Henkel Garcia, director of the Caracas business consultancy Econometrica told WSJ. "The bottom line is that there are no raw materials that anyone can afford to import."

As the global economy continues to deteriorate, the need to waste less food and less resources will become even more acute. Over the past several decades, we have grown accustomed to not even thinking twice about wasting food. In fact, I rarely come across parents that insist that their children finish everything on their plates these days.

But in the not too distant future, things are going to completely change. Even in the United States, we will eventually get to the point where every scrap of food is considered to be precious.

We are moving into a time when wasting nearly half our food will no longer be an option, and so we should start coming up with better ways of doing things as soon as we can.

​

My Review of "Rapture Ready...Or Not?"

Over the last 35 years, I have literally read hundreds of books on Bible Prophecy and End Time signs. I especially enjoy books on the Rapture, and I have read almost every Rapture-related book published. In all those years, devouring thousands of pages, and millions of words, I have not read a better book on the Rapture than, Rapture Ready...Or Not?

Terry James might be physically blind, but he is spiritually sharp and well discerning beyond most authors. In "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" Terry has nailed the pre-trib Rapture, and removed any doubt what so ever about the Church going through the Tribulation. With great insight and Godly discernment, Terry explains with simple, yet profound words, why and how that he has come to believe the ways he does about the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the End Times scenario. I think after reading "Rapture Ready...Or Not?" you too will believe as Terry does, and be Ready for the Rapture like never before! - Randy Thomas - Publisher / Editor - Prophecy Update

Pastor Greg Laurie exegetes psalm that offers God's promises to his people

We certainly are living in frightening and perilous times. We are concerned about our welfare, our livelihood and our very lives. We are afraid of our futures, wanting to keep our health, our possessions and our families intact.

And really, it's no wonder when you look at the climate we are living in right now. Violent crime is all around us. There is the ongoing threat of terrorism. And there are so many other problems that we're facing.

I remember reading a statement by the late advice columnist Ann Landers, who said there was one problem that dominated the 10,000 letters she received each month, and that was fear. She said people were afraid of losing their health, losing their wealth and losing their loved ones. She also said that people were afraid of life itself.

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the last days would be perilous and dangerous times. Jesus said that in the last days, there would be "distress of nations" (Luke 21:25 NKJV). And certainly that is an apt description of the times in which we are living.

All this brings to mind Psalm 91, a gem in the gold mine of the Psalms, which contains God's promises of provision and protection for us. In fact, next to Psalm 23, this psalm probably has been more used of God to bring comfort to God's people over the centuries than any other. As believers have faced times of danger and sickness and war and deathbeds, Psalm 91 has been a great comfort to them.

It is a great psalm for anyone who faces danger, for any of us who are gripped by fear, anxiety and worry. Psalm 91 contains some wonderful promises from God to us.

Interestingly, Satan apparently has memorized the contents of this psalm, because he came to Jesus in the wilderness and actually quoted it to him - out of context - to tempt him. It might be surprising to know that the devil is something of a Bible scholar. He is a student of the Scriptures. Of course, he is not reading them for edification; he is poring over them and scrutinizing them for his own wicked ends.

It reminds me of a story about W.C. Fields, who was seen reading the Bible one day. Fields was not known for being a Christian. That is why someone was shocked when the famed comedian was seen reading the Bible and asked, "W.C. Fields reading the Bible? Why are you reading the Bible?"

In Psalm 91 we find that God promises he will deliver us, he promises he will protect us, and he promises that he will answer our prayers and be with us in times of trouble, among other things.

But I must also add that Psalm 91 contains conditions for activating those promises. We cannot simply take its promises and say, "They apply to me." If we want God's promises as found in Psalm 91 activated in our lives, then we must meet the conditions it lays out for us.

There are a number of times where a condition is given in this psalm and then promises follow. In fact, it begins with two conditions: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust'" (verses 1-2).

Now here are the promises: "Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler" (verses 3-4).

Notice the first pair of verses tell us what we should do, and the second pair of verses tell us what God will do. The Hebrew word used for dwell in verse 1 speaks of quiet, resting and remaining with consistency. It parallels the New Testament word Jesus used, among other places, in John 15:4-5 where he said, "Abide in Me, and I in you ... for without Me you can do nothing." That word abide means to stay in a given place.

Essentially, God is saying, "I don't merely want a relationship with you. I want fellowship with you. I want you to come close to me. I want you to be near me. I want you to remain consistently in my presence."

Sometimes we will substitute perspiration for inspiration. We will substitute work for worship. And then suddenly one day we say, "I'm overwhelmed. I'm feeling burned out."

My question is, are you dwelling in the secret place of the Most High? Are you abiding under the shadow of the Almighty? To abide in someone's shadow means that you must be very close. There is a time for work. But at the same time, the best work always will overflow from a life of worship. It can never take the place of it. We must have our priorities in order.

In verse 2, the word the psalmist used for fortress speaks of a place of protection, a place that is walled around us, protecting us from the things that are hurting us.

All of this psalm's wonderful promises of protection, of provision, of answered prayer and all the rest hinge on its opening statement: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust'" (verses 1-2).

Here is what you need to do to activate those promises. You must dwell in the secret place of the Most High. You must make the Lord your refuge. What does that mean? To boil it down, it is telling us we must have an intimate, close relationship with God.

We live in a scary world, and I wouldn't want to go out in that world without Christ in my life. God is not saying we should go out and unnecessarily endanger our lives. That is foolish. But God has a work he will do in our lives as Christians, and until he is done, we are indestructible.

When you look out at all the frightening things happening around you and say, "What if this happens? What if that happens?" you can have courage because God is with you.

Many theologians and students of the Bible have various theories of America's position and role in the end times. Some argue that the use of the word "Eagle" in certain verses refers to the United States. Others believe that certain descriptions of Babylon point toward the modern America. Others use numerology to decipher America's involvement in eschatology. Certainly, many of these theories could well be considered "types and shadows," or examples if you will, of how a nation could be positioned for a certain purpose in the end times. America has played and is playing a substantial role in eschatology--some good, most not.

The United States was instrumental in helping bring about the reestablishment of Israel, a fulfillment of several prophecies such as Isaiah 66:8, "Who ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Is a country born in one day? Is a nation brought forth all at once? For as soon as Zion went into labor, she brought forth her children"; and, Ezekiel 37:21-22, "I will take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel." Until the current administration, the US had been a longstanding ally of Israel since 1948, playing a strong role in Bible eschatology.

The US has also played a strong role in aligning the nations that will come against Israel in the Day of the Lord. President Jimmy Carter began the march of the end time "Beast" prophecies by deposing the Shah of Iran and supporting democracy there in 1979. The radical Shia government came to power under the Ayatollahs. President Bill Clinton used the power of America to support the Islamic takeover of Kosovo. President George W Bush and the current man who occupies the Oval Office promoted democratic Islamism (surely a contradiction in terms) in Gaza, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yeman. The White House has been positioning America to do the same in Syria.

A map of the Islamic Caliphate that ruled over the Middle East and Eastern Europe from 1299 to 1923 indicates that America has helped reestablish Islam in well over half of the land mass of that former Ottoman Empire. After World War II, the US supported the democratization of Turkey, the linchpin in end time eschatology as revealed in Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Saudi Arabia has been a perceived US ally as well as a pervader of radical Islam. The former Ottoman Empire nations are those mentioned in Ezekiel 38, Psalm 83, and the Beast Empire in Daniel 11 that comprise the specific nations that come against Israel in the Day of the Lord. While there is no specific mention of America in the Bible, her prophetic role appears to be significant.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. -Ephesians 6:17

What is the primary weapon we should use to resist temptation? Answer: the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He responded again and again, "It is written . . ." He was showing us how to use God's Word when attacks come.

Writing about the armor of God, the apostle Paul said, "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). Among the things he listed in Ephesians 6, there is only one offensive weapon: "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

God has given us His Word as the primary weapon to defend ourselves. There is power in His Word. Psalm 119:9 says, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." Interestingly, this is addressed to a young man. If you are young, how do you live a pure life? By listening to what the Word of God says.

A few verses later the psalmist says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You" (verse 11). This means memorizing the Bible.

You might be thinking, I can't. I'm not good at memorizing things.

Just think about all the things you have memorized without even knowing it. You have song lyrics memorized. You remember trivia about sports figures. You have all kinds of things in the memory banks of your mind because they interest you and you fill your mind with them.

Open up some space for the Word of God. I have verses today floating around in my brain that I memorized at the age of seventeen, verses that have stayed with me all these years.

We need to know the Word of God.

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"Folks, it's all beginning to unravel. America is in more danger of falling than at any time in its history. But I believe Bible prophecy predicts this very decline. From this point on, we believers have to get serious. We are going to face discouragement, disillusionment and, most certainly, persecution in the time between now and the Rapture. But don't be discouraged or disillusioned. The coming turmoil will provide us unrivaled opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel. So be ready to share your faith and your hope with those who need Christ. We still have time to reap a great harvest of souls for God's kingdom!" - Hal Lindsey

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